Witch (2024) Review

Witch (2024) Review

Small town, England, 1575. We meet Twyla (Sarah Alexandra Marks – KILL KANE, HELP), a loving wife and mother who has been falsely accused of witchcraft and faces death, should she be found guilty. Her devoted husband William (Ryan Spong – A SONG FROM THE DARK, THE REMOTE OFFICE), embarks on a desperate journey to hunt down the real witch and save his beloved.

In a mission fraught with fear and danger, the determined man encounters tales of malevolence through the ages, and he starts to question whether the witch he seeks is even of this world. Also starring Russell Shaw (SIX YEARS GONE, THE LOCKDOWN HAUNTINGS).

I have heard that if you are looking to make a film on a lower budget then a period-based story was one to avoid. Pulling off a period piece successfully will naturally require period costumes to be worn by all the cast. You would also need authentic looking locations to ensure that your film looks to be set in that time. So, it is a big well done to all involved with the making of WITCH for pulling it off production-wise, especially with their choice of location.

However, elsewhere WITCH flounders. It is too dialogue-heavy and static, and starved of close-up shots of the actors which robs them of any power or emotional heft to their performances, which are otherwise fine. There is the main story but no side stories, and as we know where the story is heading – from having it shown at the movie’s start before the story jumped back a few days – it fast becomes repetitive.

Logic takes a backseat – at the climax of a pivotal court scene a giggling, obviously unhinged blood-soaked woman is left unattended and apparently uncuffed for no good reason – and it’s probably one of the only period flicks I’ve seen where a man of law gives chase after criminals on foot rather than with the expected horse.

TRAILER

Released on digital 29 April 2024